WASHINGTON. DC | A new study conducted by Fisher Intl., a market leader in pulp and paper mill data, concludes almost 17,000 jobs would be lost at pulp and paper mills due to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed Maximum Achievable Control Technology rule for industrial boilers (Boiler MACT). The ripple effect on the supply chain and local communities, jobs which depend on those mills, could increase the total jobs lost to nearly 72,000 as a result of the proposed Boiler MACT rule, the study concludes.

“The job losses shown in this study are grim indeed, and it crystallizes the potential impact of the Boiler MACT rule for our industry,” said AF&PA president and CEO Donna Harman. “The proposed Boiler MACT rule would destroy jobs in our industry at a time when policymakers are rightly saying we need to preserve and grow manufacturing jobs. EPA has a choice–they can regulate in a way that protects both jobs and the environment, or they can regulate in a way that sacrifices jobs.”

The Boiler MACT jobs study shows the proposed Boiler MACT rule, taken incrementally to other air regulations, would likely cause 30 mill closures and result in the loss of 16,888 jobs–a 14% reduction in the primary pulp and paper sector alone. When looking from a broader perspective, the ripple effect from the rule through the supply chain and surrounding community escalates the job losses to 71,774. Total jobs losses across the economy would be much higher, since the pulp and paper industry is just one of many sectors to be regulated by Boiler MACT.